This blog is all about tabletop gaming.

Imperial Settlers

Fun Factor: I have a hard time with this game on this topic because on one hand I had a good time playing it but on the other hand I also came away from the game unsatisfied so I am torn, I gave it a pretty good score because I figured that since I had a fair amount of fun while playing then that should be worth something. So the thing I love the most here is that the game really felt like a civ builder on a much faster/smaller scale, which is exactly what it wanted to do so that was almost perfect at least until near the end of the game.

Around turn 4 (of 5 total turns) is when I started noticing a problem that I would have with this game. Basically it’s that you can still get certain cards very late in the game and at that point they are nearly worthless, especially when compared to other cards that are specifically there to help you late in the game. So it ended up feeling way to much like luck was building my civ vs me building my civ. I have a couple thoughts on some house rules that I think might resolve this but I don’t know if they would really help here though I think they would.

Basically, this game’s biggest sin is being a little too random; with how short the game is there isn’t any chance to have the statistics of the randomness come around. You just get unlucky and it feels completely out of your control. I did not enjoy that, but some people will find it just fine and if you are that person than imagine this score as an 8-9.

Replay Value: So this entire game revolves around several decks of cards, one per faction and a common deck. My group made it through about 1/3 of each of these in a single play through. That is a fairly large amount of replay when you consider that you can have different variations of those cards even after having seen all the cards in the game.

I worry that after having seen all the buildings though the game would get a fair amount more repetitive, because you will know exactly what the best buildings are and then you just hope for them. I don’t think this would be a big issue but I feel like some of the glamour of the game might be lost.

Components: Considering that it is a card game they included some nice wooden pieces to help you keep track of your supplies in the game and everything was just simply pretty high quality. No complaints here at all. I would have liked to see a better way to keep the cards separated, maybe tuckboxes or something but all in all, very nice.

Learning Curve: I found this game very easy to learn to play. Everything the game wants you to do is clearly described and the symbology on the cards is instantly clear. I watched a video review of this game and it included a brief how to play. Between that and simply looking at the parts I felt like I knew exactly what I needed to do. That’s a pretty sweet learning curve if you ask me.

Verdict: So my wife and I didn’t end up buying this one after trying it out. However, I find that I want to give it a second chance so I may be doing that at some point in the future but for now, I just don’t think this game is for me.